there’s been some great readings over the last week and a half, many of which i don’t have time or patience to elaborate on. and i’ve dug out a few of my favorites that i felt warranted further discussion.

st. pauli’s newest player is the club press officer – dirty tackle @ yahoo.com
in the ten minutes it’s been since i read this article (and frantically looking for further proof on the tubes), i’ve already applied for entry level jobs at all of the professional clubs in the u.s. i don’t really care what the job is: ticket sales, concession worker, media communications, ball boy, the guy who updates their twitter and facebook accounts, whatever. if it can happen in germany, it can happen in america… right!? this is the land of opportunity, so of course it can!

i know that becoming the american hauke brückner is my last shot at making it to the big time. and since i’m fairly confident in my ability to meet the job expectations of the jobs i listed above, i feel like i’ll be kept around long enough to give me a decent shot of being recognized. now who among you can pull some strings for me to get me in this job before the start of the season?

off the field, a woman tames brazil’s soccer fans – nytimes.com
a rare, fantastic soccer article from the new york times, though it’s little surprise that it is a feature piece more focused on social issues rather than sporting. it’s encouraging to see the strides that are being made in gender equality in the football, not to mention the press that it’s receiving. however, it’s also extremely important to realize how vast that gender gap remains at the highest reaches of the game.

not only are women exceedingly rare in power positions at football clubs across the gobe, but fifa leadership is completely devoid of any female officers. this stat that completely baffles me, especially with the popularity of the women’s game growing and even proving to be lucrative. it’s not to say that women are abundant in american, but there are examples of sporting organizations that allow for a women’s perspective at the administrative level. fifa need to catch up with the times, and trailblazers like flamengo’s patricia amorim are the first steps to getting there.

puma power cat 1.10-VIP edition – prodirectsoccer.com
what. the. hell. where does puma get the idea that there is going to be a big enough demand for boots that cost $2,340?!?! don’t get me wrong, i get where having my own custom-built boots would be awesome. having a shoe built to my exact specifications for lightness, flexibility, materials and colors would be something i could only dream about. but i have to ask myself this important question: would wearing these boots make me that much better of a player? ummmm… no.

the only potential market for boots like this would be for pro players. they make a living off their feet, so dishing out a paycheck for boots wouldn’t be that bad of an investment. of course, this is making the massive assumption that a professional footballer would actually pay for their kicks. even the lowest level players for your average side will get free boots from the club’s kit manufacturer, even though many will already have sponsorship contracts and get their favorite shoes shipped to them on the regular.

so with all of that in mind, who the hell will be buying these shoes? i’ll need to revisit this in several months and see if puma and prodirect have actually sold shoes that share a price similar to boots like this.

ryan giggs – footballers today, tsk – whoateallthepies.tv
the reigning old man of the premier league, ryan giggs is undoubtedly a beacon of professionalism in today’s rapidly changing game. and as brightly as giggs shines in this respect (along with players such as former real madrid hit-man raul and david beckham), it’s easy for us to overlook how unprofessional many of today’s youngsters have become. case in point, the picture shown in the story linked above.

one would think that players struggling to breakthrough into their first teams or starting elevens would try to make a better impression by not wearing gigantic headphones plainly visible to fans/managers/directors. you would also think they would try to keep texting on their phones to a minimum, because i’m sure sir alex will be likely to consider you for the next game when you’re clearly not paying attention. morons. i mean, should i start to assume that players also don’t know not to bring guns to work?

cole shoots club intern with a pellet gun – telegraph.co.uk
sigh… apparently not. i would love to be able to live my life like ashley cole, free of the confines of worrying about the consequences of my actions.

go behind my employer’s back to illegal meet with another employer? the rules will be bent for me!
send a tramp naked pictures of myself even though i’m married? i can get another wife!
shoot a club supporter and intern? air pistols are legal in england!

so after getting all jazzed up about the possibility of landing a job with a club and then being called up to play in an injury crisis, ca$hley has gone and convinced me that the working conditions at professional clubs are far too hazardous to follow in brückner’s foot steps. i never imagined that my dream of becoming a professional football would be squashed by the prospects of getting shot.